Electric railway



No. 6l3,794. Patented Nov. 8, |898. W. M. BROWN.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

(Apphcatxon led Jan. 22, 1898 (No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

IVILLIAM MILTON BROWN, OF JOIINSTOVVN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THEJOHNSON COMPANY, OF LOBAIN, OIIIO.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 613,794, dat/d November8, 1898.

Application iiled January 22, 1898. Serial No. 667,522. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MILTON BROWN, of Johnstown, in the county ofOambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Electric Railways, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to electric railways of that class which employ abared conductor in disconnected sections or isolated spots to convey thecurrent from the source of supply to -the collecting devices of themoving vehicle. In this class of railways a switch or currentconveyer isplaced between the feeders which are connected with the high-potentialside of the circuit and each of the said conductorsections. This switchis normally open, but is so arranged that it will be closed when themoving vehicle is directly over the particular conductor-sectionconnected with said switch. This closure may be effected by a travelingmagnet carried by the vehicle, by an underground magnet receiving itsenergizing-current on account of the presence of the vehicle, bymechanical devices carried by the vehicle, or by other means known tothose skilled in the art.

My invention is applicable to railways of this general class; but it hasbeen designed vwith special reference to that type of railways whichemploy a traveling magnet to act upon the current-conveying switch. Thespecic structure which I show is more particularly adapted for use witha railway such as is shown and described in my prior patent, No.558,151, dated April 14E, 1896. At the same time I do not limit myselfto the use of my invention upon this particular type of railway, as Ibelieve that it has broadly novel features which are adapted for usewith many widely-varying types of railways. In railways in which thesecurrent conveying switches are used difficulty has often beenexperienced because of the occasional failure of the switch to properlyopen. This may occur from leaks from the conductor-section to the railor return side of the circuit or from other causes.

The central object of my invention is to minimize this danger to theutmost possible degree by providing a switch which simultaneously breaksthe circuit at two comparatively distant points and which is so arrangedthat it' any arc is maintained at these two points a new circuit isformed which will cut the conductor-section out of the main circuit.

Other objects .of my invention are the provision of a switch which willhave as small a degree of friction as possible, in which the danger ofmoisture leaks is reduced to a minimum, and which will be simple andefficient in construction and operation. To achieve the aforesaidobjects, I provide as the movable member of the aforesaid switch an armwhich in its normal position is in connection with the return side ofthe circuit, but which when magnetically actuated is in connection atone end with the conductor-section and at the other end with thehigh-potential side of the circuit, and I provide a novel construction,arrangement, and combination' of parts the functions and advantages ofwhich will more fully appear hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a vertical section takenlongitudinally through the center of an electric contact-box containinga switch embodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan viewof the same with the upper portions of the box removed. Fig. 3 is atransverse section through the center of the same, showing also theconnections with the rail or return side of the circuit.-

A is the base of the box, preferably formed of fire-brick.

O is the cover, which is formedv of two sides O of magnetic material anda center O2 of non-magnetic material. This center is theconductor-section of the system. Between the cover O and the base A isan insulatingslab B, which separates the metallic cover from the baseand serves to prevent moistureleaks between the switching apparatus andthe said cover O.

In the base A are the cavities A and A. In the cavity A2 is a fuse F,connected by a conductor E with the feeders connected to thehigh-potential side of the circuit. A conductor E passes through asuitable passage in the base and terminates at Gr within abody IOO ofmercury or other electrical conducting liquid Il. This mercury rests ina small recess a in the cavity A'. A second recess CL2 of the cavitycontains a terminal T, connected by a conductor Rl with the rail R,constituting the return side of the circuit. A third recess a/ in thesame cavity also contains mercury. The movable member of the switch isrepresented by the arm D, which seesaws about a centei d, which centerfloats in mercury contained in the recess a, thus forming an almostfrictionless bearing for the said arm. One end d2 of this arm, which ishere shown to be globular in shape, normally rests on the concavereturn-terminal T. The other end d of the arm is normally maintained ina position a little above the mercury H in the recess a.

The particular contact-box shown is intended for use in combination witha traveling magnet having two parallel longitudinal poles. Such a magnethas been shown and described in the aforesaid Letters Patent. Thesepoles in their movement over the contact-box pass over the sides C ofthe top C. As C2 is non-magnetic, the magnetic lines of force willtherefore pass downward through the sides C (see Fig. 3) and lift theglobular end d2 of the arm D. On lifting this end of the arm theglobular end (Z2 will break contact with T and will then make Contactwith T', which is a concave terminal in connection with theconductor-section C2, by means of a plug passing through the slab B.Simultaneous connection will be made between the other end d rof the armD and the mercury II. By this seesaw movement of the arm D, therefore,the conductor-section C2 is put into direct electrical connection withthe high-potential side of the circuit through the arm D, mercury II,fuse F, and conductor E. After the magnet has passed from over the topof the contact-box the weight of cl2 causes the arm D to again move tothe position shown in Fig. l, simultaneously breaking the circuit ateach of its ends, thus at once reducing any tendency toward maintainingan arc. If, however, in spite of the double breakage of the circuit anarc is maintained across the opened terminals T/ and d2, connection willbe made from the high-potential side of the circuit through E to.mercury I-I, thence through one of the arcs to d, thence to theterminal T, and thence to the rail R, providing such a direct shortcircuit for the current from the arm D to the rail that the arc betweenT and d2 will quickly extinguish. The contact-section will therefore nolonger be connected by means of the circuit T and d2 to thehigh-potential side of the circuit, for this arc has been extinguishedby the short circuit established between T and T. Thus the section iscut out of circuit even if no fuse be provided or even if for somereason it is slow or defective in operation. Normally, however, theinstant the short circuit is established the fuse is melted and thewhole device open-circuited.

At J, I show corrugations which are intended to prevent moisture-leaksfrom developing between the mercury II and the pivotal portion d of theswitch-arm.

I not only do not limit myself to any special type of railway, but I donot limit myself to the specific construction which I have shown, for Ibelieve that my invention is far broader than the mere embodimentthereof which I have utilized for the purpose of illustrating anddescribing the said invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protectby Letters Patent, is*

l. The method of preventing a conductorsection from remaining inelectrical connnection with the high-potential side by means of an arcbetween the said conductor-section and the current-con veying switch,which consists in breaking the circuit simultaneously between the switchand the conductor-section, and the switch and the terminal of thehigh-potential side of the circuit, and in providing a short circuitaround the aforesaid arc to the low-potential side of the circuit.

2. A movable member normally connected with the low-potential side ofthe circuit but disconnected therefrom and forming a connection betweenthe high-potential side of the circuit and the conductor-section whentemporarily moved by the action of the passing car.

3. A current-conveying switch having a normal position in which it isconnected with one side of the circuit and a temporary position in whichit is connected with the opposite side of the circuit and with theconductorsection.

t. The combination of a terminal for one side of the circuit, a secondterminal for the opposite side of the circuit, a contact-section and anelectrode in communication therewith, and a switch member normallyengaging one of said terminals, but movable so as to disengagetherefrom, and connect with the other of said terminals and with thesaid electrode.

5. The combination of a terminal for one side of the circuit, a secondterminal for the opposite side of the circuit, a contact-section and anelectrode in communication therewith, and an arm having one end normallyengaging said first-mentioned terminals and the other end disconnectedfrom the circuit, but movable so that its two ends engage respectivelythe said electrode and the said second terminal.

G. The combination of a terminal for one side of the circuit, an armhaving a heavy magnetizable end resting on said terminal, acontact-section and an electrode in communication therewith located inthe path of upward movement of said magnetizable end, and a terminal inconnection with the opposited side of the circuit, and located in thepath of downward movement of the light end of the arm.

7. The combination of a body of mercury IOO IIO

in connection with the source of supply, a terminal in connection withthe conductor-section, a second terminal in connection With the returnside of the circuit, an arm, an armature constituting the heavy end ofthe same and resting on said second terminal, said arm electricallyconnecting the said body of' mercury and the first-mentioned terminalWhen the said armature is lifted by magnetic attraction.

8. A movable switch member having tWo reciprocating contacts, incombination with a body of mercury in the range of movement of one ofsaid contacts and in connection With one side of the main circuit, apair of fixed terminals in the range of movement of the other of saidcontacts, connections from one of said terminals to a conductor-section,and connections from the other of said terminals to the opposite side ofthe main circuit.

9. In an electric contact-box, a tilting circuit-changing arm, and acavity containing a heavyliquid supporting the central portion of saidarm.

10. In an electric contactbozgthe combination with a movablecontact-carrying arm having an armature at one end, of a body of heavyliquid, said liquid forming a support for the central portion of thearm.

11. In an electric contact-box, in combination, a cavity, a recesstherein containing a heavy liquid, a second recess containing aliquid-conductor in connection with one side of the circuit, a thirdrecess containing one terminal in connection with the opposite side ofthe circuit and another terminal in connection with theconductor-section, and a movable connector comprising an end portionnormally resting on the first-mentioned terminal, a central portioniioating in said heavy fluid7 and its other end portion normally abovethe said conducting fluid, but out of contact therewith.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

WILLIAM MILTON BROIVN.

Witnesses:

RICHARD EYRE, MYRTLE E. SHARPE.

